When summer rolls around, there’s so much excitement. School is out! Fun! Freedom! Now, what to do with the kids here in Iowa City?

For some (well maybe a lot of) parents that means that kids also *need* things to do. Iowa City is a great family friendly town, so there’s a lot of great options. My kids love the libary’s summer reading program, going to the Stanley Art Museum, of course pools/splash pads, renting boats at Lake Macbride, doing “Where’s Rusty?” scavenger hunt, picking berries at Wilson’s Orchard, etc etc.

I always admire all of the murals throughout downtown Iowa City and thought it would be fun to put together a mural scavenger hunt for kids. This was a such a fun way to have an excuse to head downtown. We don’t get downtown super often, so it was fun to wander around the ped mall and just look around. I created a fun little “fill your square”photo scavenger hunt (link at bottom if you want to participate this summer), so other Iowa City families can join in on the fun.

There were two main part of downtown that we went to look around and take pics: the ped mall and Linn Street. You can always park downtown in the ramps for an hour for free! I had the kids chose things they wanted to do as part of the hunt. We did some roller skating, riding scooters, bubbles, and of course we had to get some gelato at Bread Garden.

Want to join in on the fun and do your own mural scavenger hunt? Follow along on these steps and get some free ice cream along with the fun!!

How do I find the murals?

Here is the link to Emily’s Blog that breaks down all of the Iowa City Murals including awesome maps and you can even download a printable mural guide. She made such an excellent blog, so I decided I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel there;)

How do I make my own photo squares?

I created a template that you can download and create your own “fill your square”. Feel free to as creative as you want to be. If you take pics in front of the murals and call it good, then great. And if you want to do something different/fun with each pic, then also great.

***Download your own Canva template; and fill out your squares.

How do I submit my squares and get the ice cream?

You can either post on instagram and tag me @jessicaschroederphoto or you can email me a screenshot or copy: jessicaschroederphotography@gmail.com.

Once I see your submission I will send (either email or drop off in your mailbox) the certificates for a free ice cream cone for each kid. I can’t wait to see all of the fun you guys have with this!

If you happen to be stumbling upon this blog and want to learn more about my family photography in Iowa City, you should head to my family info page!